Suzuki Traded

In the wee hours of last night, the Washington Nationals traded back up catcher Kurt Suzuki to his former employer, the Oakland Athletics.  The Nationals will receive Class-A pitcher Dakota Bacus in compensation for Suzuki, and the Nats will pay only half of Suzuki’s 2013 salary.

Kurt seemed very excited about returning to Oakland, where the team is down to only one healthy catcher.  The A’s are right in the thick of both the wild card and divisional races, and will rely heavily on the veteran catcher.

The Nats, on the other hand, got a work in progress.  Dakota Bacus is a former ninth round pick out of Indiana State and currently holds a 9-5 record with a 3.65 era.   The right-hander spent most of this season in Beloit and will provide depth to an already strong farm system.

Finally, Washington will look to get back to .500 tonight after winning their second consecutive game against the Chicago cubs yesterday.  The team will begin a 3 game set with the Kansas City Royals in hopes of closing the gap on the Cincinnati Reds who sit 9.5 games up in the wild card race.